ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Dallas Baptist two-way player Darick Hall and Patriots' ace Colin Poche highlight the 2016 MVC all-conference baseball teams, being tabbed Joe Carter Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year, respectively. Dallas Baptist's Dan Heefner has been named the league's Dan Callahan Coach of the Year, after leading the Patriots to their first-ever MVC regular-season title in program history and the top seed in this week's MVC Baseball Championship. Hall is Dallas Baptist's first-ever Player of the Year and also doubles as this season's Newcomer of the Year, while Poche is the first Patriot to be named Pitcher of the Year. Dallas Baptist rookie outfielder Jameson Hannah and Wichita State first baseman Greyson Jenista shared Freshman of the Year honors, while Missouri State third baseman Jake Burger was named the league's Defensive Player of the Year.
Hall, a Hereford, Ariz., native, and a Cochise College transfer, made an immediate impact on the mound and at the plate, as he is one of the nation's top two-way players in 2016. Hall ranks among the league leaders in a multitude of offensive statistical categories, including RBIs (61, 3rd), home runs (16, 3rd), slugging percentage (.612, 3rd), total bases (120, 3rd), on-base percentage (.418, 9th) and runs (38, 11th), as well as on the hill, including strikeouts (80, 2nd), wins (8, T-2nd), innings pitched (84.2, 5th), ERA (3.30, 8th) and opponent batting average (.255, 12th). Hall also owns a .984 fielding percentage and registered 11 multi-hit games and 14 multi-RBI games. He has been named a semifinalist for the NCBWA's Dick Howser Trophy, given to the top player in collegiate baseball, and is also on both the Golden Spikes Award and Olerud Award Watch Lists. Hall is the first-ever Patriot to earn the Valley's Joe Carter Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year honor.
Poche, a product of Flower Mound, Texas, has been spectacular on the mound for the Patriots this season, as the Patriots went 13-1 in games that Poche started. He is the first pitcher in Dallas Baptist’s Division I history to post an 8-0 mark. Poche's 2.21 ERA, good for third in the Valley, currently ranks as the fifth best in the Patriots’ Division I era and is the best mark by a starting pitcher. His .211 opponent batting average ranks second among league starters. Poche has tallied 73 strikeouts in 85.2 innings of work, allowing just 27 runs, also second among MVC starters. He was named a semifinalist for the 2016 Gregg Olson Award, given to college baseball's breakout player of the year, and was named the Louisville Slugger National Pitcher of the Week after recording a career-high 14 strikeouts in a 9-5 win at Missouri State on May 13. Poche is the first-ever Patriot to win the Valley's Pitcher of the Year honor.
Hannah, an outfielder who hails from Flower Mound, Texas, has been sensational in his Dallas Baptist debut, leading the Patriots in batting average (.338), a mark which ranks fourth in the league, while his .406 on-base-percentage also ranks among the Valley's top-15. He has registered impressive totals of 52 hits, 33 runs and 28 RBI in his rookie season, while also recording a .989 fielding percentage. Hannah's seven stolen bases are also the second most among league freshmen, while his 16 multi-hit games ranks second among his Patriot teammates. Hannah is the first Dallas Baptist player to take home Freshman of the Year honors.
Jenista, a product of Eudora, Kan., ranks in the league's top-10 in batting average (.327, 8th) and on-base percentage (.436, 5th), while also drawing an impressive 31 walks (7th). He ranks among the Shocker leaders in hits (54, 3rd), runs (35, 2nd), doubles (8, T-5th), home runs (5, T-2nd) and RBIs (32, 2nd). Jenista has tallied 15 multi-hit games, which ranks fourth among league freshmen, and also registered eight multi-RBI games, which leads the Shockers. Jenista becomes the fourth Wichita State player to earn the league's Freshman of the Year honor.
Burger, a Chesterfield, Mo., native, earns the league's Defensive Player of the Year award. With incredible range in the field, Burger owns a .984 fielding percentage with 32 putouts and 91 assists, while also helping turn 11 double plays. He also totaled just two errors in 125 chances this season. Burger is the second Bear to earn the league’s Defensive Player of the Year honor.
Heefner, now in his ninth season as head coach of the Dallas Baptist baseball squad, led the Patriots to their first-ever regular-season Missouri Valley Conference title in school history. Dallas Baptist's 15-5 MVC record is its best since joining the league in 2014, and the Patriots will look to earn their third consecutive NCAA Tournament bid since becoming a member of the Valley. Heefner has led Dallas Baptist to 40+ wins in four of the last five seasons, and since the Patriots joined the league in 2014, Dallas Baptist has won a league-best 123 games and owns a .699 win percentage. Heefner earns his first-ever Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year honor.
Regular-season champion and top-seeded Dallas Baptist placed a league-high six players on the all-conference first team. The Patriots' first-team selections included Darick Hall (UT), Daniel Sweet (DH), David Martinelli (OF), Colin Poche (SP), Seth Elledge (RP) and Dalton Higgins (RP). Indiana State, Southern Illinois and Evansville each had two first-team selections, including Sycamores' Andy DeJesus (2B) and Hunter Owen (OF), Salukis' Logan Blackfan (1B) and Michael Baird (SP) and Purple Aces' Boomer Synek (C) and Josh Jyawook (OF). Bradley's Cameron Roegner (SP), Missouri State's Jake Burger (3B) and Wichita State's Trey Vickers (SS) round out the list of first-team accolades.
Featured on the second team are four Shockers, including Greyson Jenista (1B), Alec Bohm (DH), Dayton Dugas (OF) and Cody Tyler (SP), and three Patriots, in Camden Duzenack (SS), Matt Duce (C) and Jameson Hannah (OF). Two Bears, including Spencer Johnson (OF) and Bryan Young (RP) and two Salukis, in Chad Whitmer (SP) and Ryan Netemeyer (RP) are also featured on the second team. Bradley's Spencer Gaa, Evansville's Trey Hair, Illinois State's Owen Miller and Indiana State's Andy Young round out the members of the 2016 second team.
An additional 11 players were honored as part of the honorable mention all-conference team, as student-athletes must receive at least two votes to be named as honorable mention.
A nine-member all-defensive team was also named for the fifth-straight season.
All-conference honors and specialty awards are voted on by the league’s eight head baseball coaches.
